To, in, at or into the Past?

Question

If we want to find something or understand something from the Past, what's correct to say?

Do we look to the Past, in the Past, at the Past or into the Past?

What is the difference between the four:

• I would look into the past to see if there happened any situations of the kind.

• If you journey to the past you may find very interesting sources of information.

• You might want to search for the answer in your past.

• If we have a look at the past we can see the changes to our civilization over the years.

Answer 1

1. The 'past' is not an active provider of understanding. We 'look to' active providers.

2. & 4. The 'past' is not a container for other things. We 'look in/into' containers of some sort.

3. Is the best choice for this particular situation (regarding the past.)

A related use of 'look at/look into' involves more specific situations. For example, a prosecutor might 'look at' a past situation where the facts are already available or 'look into' a past situation where the facts must be searched for and investigated for.